Chapter Five

The first stop the Big Four made was to the Leichter manor again. Lector was desperately hoping his sister—whichever one had talked to Seto—was safely home, and not in the grasp of Dr. Raven. He hurried up the walkway and to the porch, where he frantically rang the doorbell.

The butler soon opened it. "Mr. Démas," he greeted.

"Did either of my sisters go out?" Lector demanded. The two younger girls still lived at home, while his older and married sister lived nearby. Between Marie and Evangeline, Lector wasn't sure who was the most likely to have sought Seto out. He wasn't sure of anything involving his family anymore.

"I didn't see either of them leave," the butler intoned, "but Miss Evangeline came in just a few minutes ago. She's in your father's study."

"Thank you," Lector said hurriedly. He walked briskly down the hall, his three friends trailing after him. Just as before, the butler didn't acknowledge any of them, nor to inquire as to why one of them wasn't present.

The study door was half-open when they arrived. Hearing them coming, Evangeline turned and pushed it open the rest of the way. "Démas!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Lector with joy. "I'm so happy to see you! Father said you were coming, but I didn't know if he was going to let me see you."

Somewhat stunned, Lector slowly returned the hug. "Hello, Evangeline. . . . Did you leave the house today to talk to Seto Kaiba?" he asked.

She blinked. "Your ex-boss? Why would I talk to him?"

Sitting at his desk, Mr. Leichter's brows furrowed in concern.

"I don't know," Lector said. "He told his brother that he was going to talk to one of my sisters. Was it Marie?"

Evangeline shrugged. "I guess it must have been. Are you staying, Démas? I wish you'd stay! Daddy wouldn't ever let us check on you or write you or call you. I tried a few times, but I always got caught."

Lector looked down at her, a slight smile creeping over his features. So he hadn't been completely abandoned and forgotten by all of his family. Evangeline had always been the most forgiving.

"I can't stay," he said. "One of my friends is missing and I have to find him. Seto Kaiba is missing as well, and I wasn't sure if the sister he talked to was alright."

"Well, Marie's upstairs," Evangeline said. "I'll go get her." She bounded from the room.

Mr. Leichter let out a long and upset breath. "Evangeline was out of the house," he said.

"So I heard," Lector frowned. "But that doesn't mean she was the one with Mr. Kaiba. Why wouldn't she tell me if she was?"

Mr. Leichter despondently shook his head. "He did something to her," he said.

"You mean Dr. Raven?" Gansley spoke up.

Mr. Leichter barely glanced his way. "Yes," he said. "He must have. He erased all her memories of what happened when she went out, either because he didn't want her talking or because he wanted to demonstrate what he's capable of doing."

"How do you know this?" Johnson asked, folding his arms.

"She came back with this clutched in her right hand." Mr. Leichter held up a gold coin.

"A doubloon?" Lector frowned. "Maybe she just slipped out to the parade that's going on in town."

"She didn't," Mr. Leichter insisted with a growl. "This is a very special type of doubloon that's only sold at Dr. Raven's knick-knack shop." He came around the desk to allow Lector a closer look.

Lector took the coin, turning it over in his hand. One side was embossed with a raven. The other featured a skull.

Nesbitt's eyes flickered. Crump would have definitely had a comment to make about that design . . . if he were only there.

Lector looked back to his father. "So you're saying Dr. Raven left this as a calling card?"

"Yes!" Mr. Leichter nodded emphatically. "He's mocking and taunting me!"

"And he gave Evangeline some kind of potion so she would forget?" Lector frowned deeply, infuriated.

"I don't know what he gave her," Mr. Leichter retorted, "but it's definitely made her forget. Démas, this has to be solved right away, before anything else can go wrong! I don't want your mother or your brothers or sisters hurt!"

Pain and hurt swept through Lector's eyes. "What about me, Father?" he asked. "Don't you care whether I'm hurt as well?"

Mr. Leichter stiffened, caught. ". . . Well, of course I do," he sputtered at last. "But I mean, your sister has already been in danger!"

"Dr. Raven tried to crush Lector when we first arrived!" Nesbitt spat, unable to hold it in any longer. "He's already in danger as well!"

Mr. Leichter cleared his throat. "Yes, well . . . that's what you can expect around here." He crossed back to his desk.

"Just hold on for one moment." Gansley's eyes burned as he held the cane diagonally across Mr. Leichter's path. "Your son could have been killed and that's all you have to say?! The difference between how you're treating him and his sister is mind-boggling."

"His sister didn't disgrace the family," Mr. Leichter coolly replied. "She's proud of the family name just the way it is, and she won't change the spelling. Nor will she dabble in crooked business practices. You'd never catch her trying to put somebody in a video game."

Now guilt joined the other emotions in Lector's eyes. "I regret what I did to Mr. Kaiba and his friends. But the fact that I changed the spelling of the family name so it would be absolutely clear how to pronounce it is not a crime."

"It is to me," Mr. Leichter retorted. "Although the rest is the worst."

"You really don't believe people can change, do you?" Nesbitt snapped.

"Even if they do, the damage to the family has already been done," Mr. Leichter shot back.

Lector was barely controlling his temper by this point. "Family should stand by their loved ones and try to encourage them to be better," he said. "You don't abandon them when they need you most!" He turned, not even wanting to hear what his father would say to that. "I'm leaving as soon as I've talked to Marie. I have a missing friend to find. And a missing ex-boss. Good day, Father." He all but stormed out of the room.

The other three gave Mr. Leichter equally dark and repulsed looks.

"You've got a lot of nerve, tricking him into coming out here," Nesbitt growled.

"If anything happens to him because of this Dr. Raven, you will be partially responsible," Johnson added.

"And none of us will forget that," Gansley said.

"Rotten, no-good, crooked businessmen," Mr. Leichter snapped back at them. "Get out of here!"

"Gladly," Gansley growled.

xxxx

Mai and Téa were en route to the docks when their phones came alive. Téa answered hers and was soon having a conversation that alarmed her to no end.

"Kaiba's missing?!" she cried in horror as she talked with Yugi.

"That's right," Yugi said. "Everyone's spread out looking for him and Crump. He's missing too."

"Mai and I were on our ways to the docks," Téa said slowly. "It sounds like we'd better postpone that for now. . . ."

"Duke's group and the Big Four already left the docks," Yugi said. "They didn't have much luck there."

"Mai and I were thinking that we need to find out what was really in those missing crates," Téa said. "Maybe it wasn't just voodoo knick-knacks."

"That's a really good point," Yugi said.

In the background, Atem added, "Not to mention that we're forgetting crates are missing from other businesses as well. It could be a red herring, meant to confuse us and make it look less like Mr. Leichter is responsible just to get at Dr. Raven. On the other hand, it could be a vital clue."

"Another good point," Mai mused, hearing the conversation.

"We'll look into this as soon as we find Kaiba and Crump," Téa decided. "That has to be top priority."

"Good deal," Yugi said. "Okay, we'll see you soon! And them too . . . I hope. . . ." He hung up.

Téa slumped back as she hung up her phone. "This is awful," she said. "What could have happened to them?"

"Hopefully nothing," Mai said. Sighing, she added, "But it could be everything."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Téa whispered.

xxxx

Duke's group and Yami Bakura's group had met and opted to go to the knick-knack shop. Dr. Raven himself was behind the counter when they walked in.

"Good afternoon," he purred. "Have you come back for a little browsing? Perhaps the purchase of one of the tiki masks the young lady was interested in."

Serenity blinked. "But how did you know . . ." She shook her head. "No, that's not why we're here."

"We're looking for the girl you had working for you," Duke said.

"Angelique," David added.

"She isn't here," Dr. Raven replied. "She only works for me part-time."

Yami Bakura frowned. "Don't you have an address on her?"

"Of course." Dr. Raven took a notepad and scribbled a few lines. "But she may not be home."

Duke took the piece of paper. "Where would she be if she's not home?"

"I really couldn't say," Dr. Raven shrugged. "I'm her uncle, not her keeper." He looked to Yami Bakura and Atem—or more specifically, to their Infinity Items. "Those are fascinating objects, gentlemen. They look very old. Might I ask where you acquired them?"

Yami Bakura sneered. "You might ask," he said, "but that does not mean you'll get an answer."

"Yami," Bakura whispered.

Atem just looked back at Dr. Raven, completely calm and unconcerned. "Let's just say we received them from an expert in antiquities."

"Ah, I see," Dr. Raven nodded. "Are they merely for decoration? They're awfully large for jewelry." He looked from the Ring to the Puzzle. "And I see that each one bears the infinity symbol."

"They're part of a set," Yami Bakura said. "We have . . . eclectic tastes." He smirked.

Oreo, who was in Bakura's arms and looking over his shoulder, suddenly focused on one of the tiki masks and hissed.

Bakura jumped. "Oh, that's nothing to be afraid of," he tried to soothe the cat. "It's just a mask. . . ."

Oreo yowled.

Dr. Raven stared at the cat. "That animal had best not make a mess of my shop," he scolded.

"She won't," Bakura insisted. "But I'd better take her out of here. . . . I'm terribly sorry."

Dr. Raven smirked a bit. "The masks are frightening to many humans, but this is the first time I've seen an animal show such fear."

"Perhaps she isn't afraid of the mask," Yami Bakura said. "Perhaps she fears something else. An evil essence, maybe?"

"Hmm. Maybe," Dr. Raven smiled. "I don't know where each mask originally came from. It's possible one of them carries such an essence." He watched the group as they headed for the door. "Good luck with Angelique!"

"Thank you," Yugi called with a wave.

He let out a sigh of relief when they left the shop. "Wow, I don't blame Oreo. There was something wrong in there. That mask felt . . . evil." He shuddered. "I'm glad Joey wasn't with us."

Bakura petted the cat, who was settling down now that they were on the sidewalk. "Well, so now what?" he wondered. "Should we all call on Angelique and go from there?"

"Might as well," Duke shrugged. "If she's not home and no one around there knows anything, maybe Mokuba or someone can start trying to find out more about her so we can track down some of her other favorite spots."

"We don't even know her last name," Bakura realized. "I suppose offhand I thought it was Raven, but is that really an actual surname?"

"It can be," David said. "I don't know, though; I guess I was subconsciously thinking that 'Dr. Raven' was probably some kind of mystical stage name."

"Let's go check out her place," Duke said. "Her neighbors might know something about her. They should be able to tell us her last name, at least."

They hurried to their vehicles.

xxxx

Seto paced the freezer, gritting his teeth against the cold. He couldn't say how long he and Crump had been trapped, but he had the bad feeling that the man was right about the hypothermia starting to set in. By now, Seto felt far worse than just mildly cold.

His phone was also feeling the effects. Within minutes of waking up, Seto had found that the device's battery was almost completely drained. He had turned it off and put it inside his coat, hoping the cold wouldn't break it completely. He needed that recording he had made of his conversation with Evangeline.

Crump seemed to be handling the cold a bit better than Seto was—probably a combination of his love of frigid temperatures and having more protection against the chill from his heavier body weight. But by now he was starting to wind down somewhat as well.

"And to think, I thought there wouldn't be any normal winter dangers by coming to New Orleans in January," Seto muttered with dripping sarcasm.

"Who would?" Crump countered.

Seto turned his attention to the grate high above them. "I'm going to try to get up there," he announced. "It's our only chance. We can't sit around waiting to be rescued!"

Crump stared at it. "And just how do you think you're gonna make it up there?" he countered. "If there were any tables or shelves in here, they took them out, probably just to keep us from trying that very thing!"

"There's one way we can try," Seto responded. "Go stand under it and I'll climb on your shoulders."

"Are you nuts?!" Crump exclaimed.

"Do you want to be found frozen solid tomorrow?" Seto shot back. "Even you won't last very long in here." He shivered. "And the more hypothermia sets in, the more we're going to lose the ability to be rational. We need to try something while we're still aware enough to think straight."

Crump heaved a sigh. "Okay." He crossed the freezer and stood under the grate, placing his hands on the wall for extra support.

It was awkward for both of them when Seto started to climb. "Hey!" Crump gasped when Seto accidentally kicked him. "Watch it!"

"Hold still!" Seto snapped.

"You try having someone use you for a tree and see how easy it is not to move," Crump retorted.

Finally Seto made it to Crump's shoulders. He strained, desperate to grasp the grate. It was still out of his reach. "If I could just get a little higher," he growled.

"Well, you can't," Crump said.

Seto responded by trying to put one foot on Crump's head and pulling himself up high enough to grasp the grate.

"Hey!" Crump yelped. He wobbled and reached up, grabbing at Seto's leg. "Are you trying to crack my skull? Get down!"

Seto snatched the grate in desperation, pushing his fingers through the slat. "Okay, then grab both of my legs and push me up!" he ordered. "I've almost got it!"

Crump was definitely more agreeable to that. He wrapped his hands around Seto's ankles and pushed him upward. "Have you got it?"

"Yeah." Seto rattled the grate in desperate frustration. "But it's rusted on. I don't think I could fit through the shaft anyway."

"At least you could try calling for help or something," Crump suggested. "If the place is still open for business, maybe someone will hear you!"

"I doubt it," Seto scowled. But it did seem to be the only thing left to try. ". . . Help!" he yelled, feeling ridiculous even as he did so.

"We're locked in the freezer!" Crump bellowed. "Get us out!"

They yelled for several minutes with no response. Finally Crump wobbled again. "I've gotta set you down," he said. "This isn't working and my arms are numb!"

"Fine," Seto conceded.

Crump set him on the floor and rubbed at his arms. "We'll have to keep moving," he said. "It'll hold the cold off longer."

"I know that much," Seto said.

They walked around the freezer, back and forth, up and down, side to side, diagonally, every way they could think of. But it wasn't an indefinite help. Seto raised a trembling hand to his forehead. He was much colder now, and his thoughts were freezing up as well as his body.

Where am I? . . . I'm in a walk-in freezer. I have to remember that. I'm not outside . . . I'm not even in Domino City. I'm in New Orleans, in a diner, in the freezer.

Where's Mokuba? . . . He's not here, is he? . . . No, he's safe. I have to get back to him. . . . I have to focus on that. Getting back to Mokuba is the only thing that matters.

For some time he managed to force himself to keep some semblance of awareness even as the confusion clawed at him. He kept walking, struggling to move, to think. . . .

Mostly he and Crump stayed silent. They certainly weren't close and they didn't have a great deal to talk about. At the moment, each seemed caught up in his own way of struggling to focus. Although Crump still seemed to be a little more active than Seto felt right now, it was obvious all the more that he was wearing down.

"You've gotta be careful as the hypothermia sets in more that you don't start doing crazy things like paradoxical undressing," Crump said after a while. "Of course, if you actually get to that point, you're pretty much beyond thinking."

"If I try to do that, you have my permission to stop me in any way possible short of actually killing me," Seto said flatly.

Crump smirked a bit. "Always the modest one, eh?"

"I'm not an exhibitionist." Seto absently ran a hand over a place on his arm where there was a scar. He had never shown those to anyone. If anyone was going to see them, he hardly wanted it to be Crump.

"Lector's the same way. Oh, not that any of them aren't, but Lector especially, you'd never find him stripping down in a locker room with a bunch of other guys."

"I wouldn't think so." Seto stared off at the wall.

"If you catch him undressed, it's an accident. You know, that did happen once. . . . I saw he had a long scar across his right upper arm, but I was too occupied with talking to him about what I went there to talk to him about to think about the scar right then. I wonder how he got it. . . ."

Suddenly it occurred to Seto that Crump's reaction to the cold was to start rambling. Either that or he was rambling just to hear himself talk and try to keep himself sane. Or, Seto supposed, even to try to keep him occupied by engaging him in a conversation.

"Well, if it's suddenly a matter of such great interest, you can ask him about it when we get out of here," Seto said flatly.

"Yeah, I guess. Lector's a real private person. They all are, though. Me too."

"Really," Seto said with dripping sarcasm.

"It takes a lot to draw them out," Crump said. "We've all got a lot of pride. That's always the thing, the men aren't supposed to be emotional or open up because it's just not manly. But bottling up a lot of pain isn't good for men any more than it is for women. I bet you bottle up a ton of stuff, don't you?"

Seto grunted.

"All of your technology and winning and all that stuff, that's your coping mechanism, right? Like penguins are for me."

Seto really stopped to think about it. It was, he supposed. Still, that was a strange revelation about Crump. "Penguins are a coping mechanism?"

"Yeah, against absentee parents that always argue when they bother being around. And other things that have gone wrong through the years. When I've had a really crummy day, I just pop in a tape about penguins and everything starts to look better."

Seto considered that and slowly nodded. A good duel always made him feel better. Or working on a new technology product.

"Of course, the best remedy for a crummy day above everything else is . . . well, I know it's gonna sound corny and cheesy, but what I like best is just hanging out with the other guys. I never knew what a family could be like until I met them and we started getting close." Crump stopped walking around and just stood smiling a bit. "Yeah. . . . That's the best thing."

Seto's eyes flickered. Being with Mokuba was definitely the best thing for him. As much as he loved his technology and his duels and KaibaCorp, it was all meaningless without Mokuba.

"Let me tell you, you know you love somebody when you're with them all day working and you still want to be with them when you're not working. Or in a bizarre situation like we were for over a year, stuck as wandering spirits, no sleep, no rest, just constantly together, and to not come out of it completely hating each other's guts. Heck, we're still together every day. . . ." Crump trailed off. He was wavering a bit now, actually looking rather helpless and lost. He was afraid he wouldn't get back to them.

"We're going to get out of this," Seto insisted. "Don't ever think we're not."

". . . Yeah." Crump started walking again. "Yeah, of course we are."

Seto resumed walking as well. The conversation thread had seemed to reach its end. He could start another, but he didn't really want to. Although it had kept him occupied. Without Crump's constant rambling in his ear, about all he could hear were the sounds of the freezer's motor . . . their shoes pacing the floor . . . their ragged breaths. . . . Over and over, like some off-the-wall tune.

Over and over . . . as the cold itself seemed to take on a sound all its own while it crept over him and continued slowly freezing his body beyond endurance. . . .

He couldn't remember his legs giving out on him. He only remembered suddenly realizing he was on the floor, shaking, the cold forcing itself over him. He tried to push himself up on his forearms but only fell down again.

Beefy hands grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him upright. "Come on, Kaiba, you've gotta keep moving," a gruff voice told him.

For a moment Seto was too confused to fully process that, either.

Who is that? . . . Crump. It's Crump. I'm locked in a walk-in freezer with Crump.

Seto turned, looking up at his former enemy through bleary eyes. "Don't you ever get cold?" he mumbled.

"Me? I'm a penguin, remember?" Crump laughed.

"Penguin . . . ?" Seto blinked, squinting at Crump as the man morphed into a giant blue-and-white penguin with a top hat. "Ugh." Seto shut his eyes and held a hand to his head.

Crump stiffened as Seto slumped against him. "Kaiba?! Hey, hey, hey! No snoozing, remember? You've gotta stay awake!" He blinked, shivering. While the cold took a bit longer to effect him to the extent it was affecting Seto, he certainly wasn't immune. Judging from the boy's behavior, he was slipping into confusion. That wasn't good at all. And when Crump followed suit . . . what then?

"How did you do that?" Seto mumbled.

"Do what?" Crump retorted.

"Change into a penguin. . . ."

"I didn't mean it literally!" Crump exclaimed.

"I saw it. . . ."

"Oh brother, are you hallucinating?!" Crump shivered more violently. This was very bad and only getting worse. He knew it wouldn't be long and he would start slipping into the same confused state.

Seto grunted, slumping farther against Crump.

"Okay, you must be bad off or you'd never do that," Crump said. He held Seto closer. All joking and awkwardness aside, this situation was getting serious. He would have to do whatever he could to keep Seto warm. Himself too, of course.

"You know, I think I'm really starting to feel bad for trying to freeze Téa in Noa's world," he said with a weak laugh.

"Then at least there's some point to this," Seto slurred.

"I guess, if you wanna see it that way. . . ." Crump shifted, worried when Seto didn't reply. "Come on, Kaiba!" He shook the teen roughly. Still no response. "Kaiba, you've gotta think of Mokuba! Remember? Your kid brother? He'll be devastated without you!"

Finally Seto started, weakly. "Mokuba . . ."

"That's right." Crump didn't even try to hide his relief. "You almost slipped off there. You've gotta hang on, alright? Just think about Mokuba. Think about anything that'll keep you awake."

Seto moved slightly and looked up at Crump. "You're . . . holding me. . . ."

"You fell on me," Crump shrugged. "You needed the warmth, so . . ."

Seto didn't try to move. He had seemed to accept that he could not and probably should instead seek whatever warmth he could get. But that didn't stop him from one last crack. ". . . When we get out of here . . . we will never speak of this, to anyone."

Crump had to laugh, even though he was perfectly willing to agree. "No arguments from me. Although they'll probably find out anyway, considering we'll be like this when they open the door."

"More's the pity," Seto grunted.

Crump blinked again as he shivered more violently. It was starting to sound like penguins chirping in the far corners of the freezer. If he stared off at nothing for too long, it began to look like he could see the birds out of the corners of his eyes, slipping out of the shadows and waddling over to them.

Oh great. It's starting in for me now.

He shut his eyes tightly as he clung to the reality of holding on to Seto's half-frozen form.

Come on, guys. . . . Come soon. We're not gonna make it much longer.